When I first saw one of these trees I knew I had to make it this Christmas! I love festive dishes and it doesn’t get better than this one! I had been wanting to make a roasted bell pepper pesto so I used that in this recipe but there is no reason you couldn’t use another type of pesto or other filling if you wanted a different flavor. Basil pesto, ricotta and spinach or ricotta and sun dried tomatoes come to mind. You could also make this a sweet treat by adding chocolate or a marmalade and dusting it with powdered sugar…yummy!!

Ingredients for Puff pastry christmas tree

1 sheet puff pastry - I used the Trader Joes brand
Red pepper pesto - recipe below
Olive oil

Roasted Red pepper pesto recipe

Just a note about this recipe. It will yield more than you need. You could probably half it and still have plenty. I like to make the full recipe and then save the rest for adding to pasta or bruschetta or something.

THE INGREDIENTS -

8 oz Roasted bell pepper (drained of most of their oil) *
1 oz Pine nuts - toasted
1 Cup finely grated pecorino cheese
3/4 oz fresh basil leaves
2 Garlic cloves - finely chopped
1/4 - 1/2 Cup olive oil
salt

THE PREPARATION -

Place the pine nuts in a skillet and lightly toast, let cool
In a food processor or blender ad in roasted pepper slices, pine nuts, basil, finely chopped garlic, pecorino or parmesan cheese and a 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Pulse or blend until the desired texture. Add in more olive oil if needed to get desired consistency. Taste and add salt if desired
Use the pesto right away or transfer to a jar or air tight container and store in the fridge or freezer.

*I used some fabulous roasted bell peppers that I got from Italy in this recipe. You could use jarred roasted peppers or roast your own in the oven. I think this recipe would be prettiest and have the nicest flavor if just red bell peppers were but you could use some yellow or orange too. I actually had a combination of yellow, orange and red in my jar from Italy. Either way it will be delicious! If you do happen to have bell peppers in oil, try to drain off as much as possible or just be mindful when adding the olive oil from the recipe. You may not need the whole half cup.

Preparation for the Puff pastry christmas tree

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Unroll the puff pastry sheet. Leave on the parchment paper it was rolled up in.
Cut the puff pastry into the shape of a Christmas tree (triangle with a wide base) - see pictures. Saving the cut pieces.
Spread some of the filling out over the tree getting close to the edge.
Use the cut pieces to cover the filling. Cover with a piece of parchment paper and flip over onto a sheet pan.
Lightly score a line down the middle of the tree (do not cut all the way through) and then cut branches into the sides and base of the tree.
Twist the branches trying to get in 2 turns on each branch and on the base. You can twist either way, just be consistent with all of the branches.
Drizzle on some olive oil and spread around with a pastry brush.
Bake in the preheated oven until puffy and golden, about 30 - 35 mintues. Cool slightly. Slide onto a serving plate, using a piece of parchment paper if needed or serve it right on the sheet cake pan like we did :)